Refrigerating apparatus



IN VEN TOR.

Jan b B. Dunn BY HI! ATTORNE Oct. 20,- 1959 J. B. DUNN 0 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 14, 1956 w 59 A21, 19

United States Patent REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Joseph B. Dunn, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application February 14, 1956, Serial No. 565,414

1 Claim. (Cl. 230-47) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to an air conditioning unit having means for selectively discharging the conditioned air in either of two directions.

It is another object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive means for supporting the shroud of a centrifugal blower so as to make it possible to partially rotate the shroud when it is desired to change the location of the air outlet.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an air conditioning unit wherein the direction of the air discharged from the unit may be changed without changing the construction of the main housing and without disturbing the main support for the blower and the blower operating motor.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly schematic, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fi'agmentary end elevational view, with parts broken away, showing the arrangement for mounting the main blower shroud; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the support for the blower shroud.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, reference numeral generally designates an air conditioning housing which serves to support a heat exchanger coil, a centrifugal blower assembly 14 and blower operating motor 16. The air to be conditioned enters the casing 10 through an inlet 17 which is provided with an air filter 18 for removing dust and other particles from the air before the same comes in contact with the heat exchanger 12. After the air leaves the heat exchanger 12 it enters the blower 14 through the usual side air inlets 20 provided in the main blower shroud 22. The shroud 22 includes the usual air discharge portion 24 which has removably connected thereto a duct section 42, as shown.

The evaporator 12 forms a part of a refrigerating system whichincludes a compressor 26 for withdrawing vaporized refrigerant from the evaporator and for discharging compressed refrigerant into a condenser 28. The condensed refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator through a line 3 0 in which there is located the usual thermostatic expansion valve 32.

As best shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the shroud 22 may be used to discharge the air horizontally through an air outlet 36 located in the end wall of the casing 10 or it may be used to discharge the air vertically upwardly through an air outlet 38 located in the upper wall of the housing 10. A shiftable plate 40 is provided for closing the particular air outlet opening, which is not in use.

To facilitate shifting the shroud 22 from the full-line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted-line position, the

Patented Oct. 20, 1959 removable extension 42 is attached to the outlet portion 24 of the shroud 22. This extension is temporarily removed from the outlet 24 during the process of shifting the shroud and is thereafter re-attached after the shifting operation has been completed. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a separate mounting bracket or spider-like ele meat 50 is attached to the shroud 22 adjacent each side opening thereof and these are used for supporting the shroud in proper relationship to the rotating parts of the blower. Each spider-like element 50 includes a central hub-like portion 52 provided with arcuate slots 54 through which mounting bolts 56 extend. There are preferably three of the bolts 56 for supporting each side of the blower shroud and these bolts 56 are carried by stationary mounting brackets 58 which are attached directly to the main bearing support 60. The bearing supports 60 are stationarily carried by the outer shell 10 and serve to hold the main blower shaft bearings 62. The blower drive shaft 64 is provided with the usual pulley 66 which cooperates with the main drive belt 68 driven by the motor 16. The usual air impeller or blower wheel 70 is keyed to the main blower drive shaft 64, in accordance with standard practice.

The shroud 22 may be shifted from the one position to the other by loosening the screws or mounting bolts 56 and then re-tightening the bolts after the shroud has been shifted. It is not necessary to completely remove the bolts as they serve as supports for the shroud during the shifting thereof. By virtue of this construction, the same air conditioning housing and blower construction can be used for those installations in which the conditioned air is to be discharged either vertically or horizontally.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood thatother forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claim which follows.

What is claimed is as follows:

In combination, a housing having a pair of alternative outlets disposed at an angle to one another, a centrifugal blower within said housing selectively discharging air through either of said outlets, said blower including a drive shaft, a blower wheel fixed to said drive shaft and a shroud having a radially directed air discharge outlet spaced from the walls of said housing, a stationary support for said shroud, bearing means for said shaft carried by said stationary support, mounting means for said shroud including a slotted connection between said shroud and said stationary support facilitating rotation of said shroud about the axis of rotation of said blower wheel for selectively aligning said air discharge outlet with either of said alternative outlets, the walls of said housing being spaced from the axis of rotation of said shroud by a distance greater than the maximum radius of said shroud whereby said shroud may be thus rotated about its axis of rotation within said housing without engaging the walls of said housing and a duct removably secured to said shroud and bridging the gap between said air discharge outlet of said shroud and one of said alternative outlets for selectively connecting the outlet of said shroud to one of said alternative outlets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

